Although no Clallam County Public Utility District official testified before the state Legislature last week (see story, below at right), the agency supports amending Initiative 937.
Clallam PUD has endorsed an effort led by the Tri-Cities Regional Chamber of Commerce to amend the act.
PUD officials want the initiative’s exclusion of hydroelectric power as a source of renewable energy reversed and to be allowed to suspend the requirement for meeting the renewable-energy edict until its utility load growth requires it.
The 30,000-customer PUD, which provides electricity to county residents outside of Port Angeles, is the smallest utility in the state among those that must comply with the initiative.
The 2006 Energy Independence Act initiative requires utilities with 25,000 customers or more to purchase 3 percent of their energy from renewable sources such as wind and solar by 2012.
It also requires that 9 percent be drawn from renewable sources by 2016 and 15 percent by 2020.
Electricity in East Jefferson County will continue to be provided by Puget Sound Energy until April, when the Jefferson County Public Utility District will begin providing the service to 19,000 meters.
